Comportamento de codornas japonesas submetidas a diferentes temperaturas

Abstract

The quail production has grown considerably in recent years in Brazil, from being a subsistence activity and becoming a technological and profitable activity. Despite the growth, farmers still encounter barriers that make it difficult to maximize production. Among the barriers it can be mentioned, the environment production, which exerts a direct influence on the quails behavior, that can be used to evaluate their well-being. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the behavior of Japanese laying quails submitted to different air dry-bulb temperatures by the clustering method. The quails were subjected to temperatures of 20°C, 22°C, 24°C, 26°C, 28°C 30°C, and 32°C. The assessed behaviors were: presence in the feeder, presence in the drinker, behavior characterizing stress, they were pecking, riding on other quail, repeated movements with the head and running inside the cage, and idle behavior, in which quails remained standing. The results were evaluated by the clustering method and cophenetic correlation coefficient. At 20°C, quails presented more distinct behavior among the evaluated temperatures. The frequency of occurrence of stress behaviors and presence at the drinker were similar. The higher frequency of occurrence of stress behavior was in lower temperatures. The leisure behavior was the highest frequency at all air temperatures when compared to other behaviors. The cophenetic correlation coefficient for behaviors within the grouped temperatures was 0.85 and the temperature within the isolated behaviors was 0.96. The thermal comfort interval, based on behavioral analysis of Japanese laying quails, was from 22 ° C to 24 ° C. Japanese quails presented reactions consistent with thermal stress at 20 ° C. The clustering method showed to be an effective tool in the behavioral evaluation in the area of animal production.